Remember that kid in school that knew way to much about movies and television? Yeah well, I'm what he grew up to be.

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Reality Shock 2009 In Review Pt. 3: Television

Concluding My Best And Worst of The Year...

Television In 2009:

Best Television Series of 2009:
Durham County. Not many are aware of the existence of the 12 episodes of earth shattering amazement that is the Canadian series Durham County, one of the best kept secrets of the great white north, I say best kept because it aired here in the states on the Ion Network, but so little people are aware of that network's existence it kind of still counts as a hidden gem. Durham County is the mental thriller that all mental thrillers wish they could be, it tells the story of two men, who though very different, are the exact same person, their personalities, their manor of doing things, they took different paths, but yet, they turned out exactly the same. One, Mike Sweeney, a hard edged cop from Toronto who moves back to his home town of Durham County Ontario after his wife whom he thought was going to die fully recovers from a very powerful strain of breast cancer, Mike is cold, distant, and at times is prone to insane fits of rage and anger, which often lead to violence, Mike is also lethally protective of his family, specially his daughter Sadie, who wants to be a cop just like her father, even makes little doll to stage murder scenes so she can solve them with her father. The other is Ray Prager, the typical hometown boy, he was ment to go off to play professional hockey, but do to an injury inflicted by Mike in their teens, that is never really clearly explained, Ray is no longer able to play professional hockey, and when not running his local successful plumbing and home supply store, plays local rec hockey with his son, Ray Jr. or is hosting some sort of benefit for a local charity with his wife Tracy. Ray has everything you could ever want, a lot of money, a beautiful wife, a brilliant and talented son, a successful business and the love and admiration of all the people in the town of Durham County. None of which are aware that under that facade, Ray Prager is completely insane and just as prone to violence and anger as Mike is, which is why so many believe that Mike is wrong when he starts to accuse Ray of a series of rapes and murders that happen around town, almost all of which connect back to Ray, and Ray's ritual of what he would do in his teenage years when he would either personally, or with his friends rape girls in an abandoned farm house that Ray used to live in. In truth, Ray is simply mimicking a french man that he witnessed murder and rape two young girls in the opening of the first episode. Its a mindblowing series that tells the story of Ray and Mike, and their seemingly eternal Kane and Able like story, which gets even darker in the second half with the introduction of Dr. Penn Verity who is, in a sense, a black widow spider that has everyone involved in her web, and manipulates them all to do as she sees fit, its an amazing series thats current episode count ends with a shocker that'll leave you chilled for hours, and like me wishing they'd finish filming series three so you can watch it sooner then next fall.

Runner-Ups: “Fringe”, “House M.D”, “Skins”

Best New Series of 2009:
Glee. Its ver6y common in television to have an incredibly pilot or first few episodes, and then it all fall apart into some ungodly mess of bovine waist that just begs you to put it out of its misery, a lot of people thought this about the new series Glee. They assumed the offbeat dramatic comedy about the drama and inner workings of a high school Glee Club would fall short afew episodes in and just be swept under the rug, after all musical tv shows that don't involve a singing competition tend to fall flat and fall fast, most would sight early 1990s “Cop Rock” as one good example of this fact, or the recent horrorshow that was UK's Britannia High. And though Glee kind of follows the same basic concept of its retarded cousin from the other side of the pond, they are completely different programs, with nothing other then the musical aspect of both shows connecting each other. Glee tells the story of Will Shoester, a former Glee Club member who has grown up and become a teacher, teaching at the very school he used to sing at, William McKinley High School in Lima Ohio, Will is in a one sided marriage where he lets his delusional and spoiled wife Terry walk all over him because he feels depressed and as if his life is going no where. One day, Will decides after looking at the trophies and remembering his glory days, to restart the high school's glee club, after forming his group made up of various oddballs and misfits, as well as afew football players and cheerleaders, he sets about teaching them about life through music, and preparation for them to compete on a state and later national level. The whole while avoiding the trouble caused by those who wish to end what Will is doing, his wife Terry who feels he shouldn't have anything that is his, or that makes him happy for she feels he will leave her if he discovers he can be happy, and the hilariously military like and very unsettling cheerleading director Sue Sylvester, who for no reason other then they take away a small amount of her insanely high budget. And along the way, you discover love, false pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, break ups and the regular drama that just swarms around this group of misfits who regardless of where they all stand socially, all come together in song. Its a brilliantly hilarious and insanely entertaining series, and if you haven't given Glee a listen, or a watch, I suggest you do both, you'll be glad you did. Almost as glad as I am to give this breath of fresh air the respect and love it deserves.

Runner-Ups: “V”, “The Misfits”, “10 Things I Hate About You”

Best Drama Series of 2009:
Sons of Anarchy. For those that haven't seen it, Sons of Anarchy is the story of the Teller-Morrow family of Charming, as well as the other members of the local Sons of Anarchy charter, their families, various Charming townspeople, and the various rivals and associates who undermine or support SAMCRO's legal and illegal enterprises. Sons of Anarchy follows the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle gang most closely, but also heavily features a number of ally and rival gangs such as the Mayans, 1-9ers, Nords, True IRA and a white separatist group called the League of American Nationalists. The family drama is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet; indeed, star Ron Perlman has said, "I'm sure they’re going to stick to the structure of Hamlet all the way to the end" of the series. Clay is based on the role of King Claudius and Gemma as a Gertrude figure. Jax stands in for Prince Hamlet himself. Jax's reflective questioning of the SOA culture, brought on by the birth of his son, references Hamlet's melancholy over the death of the king. Additionally, Jax "communicates" with his dead father by way of his late father's unpublished journal/manuscript; Hamlet, of course, literally communicates with the ghost of his father. The drama and characterizations are also enhanced by drawing on Macbeth, another Shakespeare tragedy. Katey Sagal's Gertrude-like Gemma resembles Lady Macbeth because—while it is never entirely clear from Hamlet how complicit Queen Gertrude is in the murder of Hamlet's father—it is obvious that Gemma has willingly participated in the cover-up of the death and may even have encouraged Clay in his treachery. Creator Sutter has said of the Shakespeare element, "I don't want to overplay that but it's there. It was Jax's father who started the club, so he's the ghost in the action. You wonder what he would have made of the way it turned out. It's not a version of Hamlet but it's definitely influenced by it. This show is one of those ones thats just so addictive to watch that when you start, you can't stop, obviously that makes for a great drama, but more so its just so incredibly well written and acted, I've been a long time fan of both Ron Pearlman and Katie Segal, and I love how the two of them play off each other and you feel the believability in their characters, and yet, you kind of hope they'd have been cast in the soon to be american version of the brilliant Outrageous Fortune... but that aside, this series is just so great, and is growing greater as it progresses.

Best Comedy Series of 2009:
10 Things I Hate About You. When I first heard about this series, I, like most of my generation cried out in complete and utter disdain at the idea, though its common for movies to become tv series, it wasn't common for such an iconic and generation defining film to be adapted as such, to teenagers of the 1990s 10 Things I Hate About You is seen as hallowed ground, let me explain, the general idea before we knew anything more then it was being made, was essentially the kind of outcry that would happen if say, The Breakfast Club or one of the other cult defining films of the 1980s were made into a series (zip it, that horrible Ferris Beauler series doesn't count), and though I, like the rest of my generation waited and watched the pilot for hopes of seeing a trainwreck that we could take to the internet and shoot it down like an Iraqi jet in the no fly zone, but I must tell you, what we got, was not what we were expecting, not by a long shot. See the people who set out to make this series knew it would be an uphill fight, you don't traverse the holy lands with out respect and fear of what may happen to you if you make the wrong move, but I must say, what they did, was nothing short of excellent. They reworked a lot of the characters and the general plot just abit, but not in ways that make it impossible to enjoy, or unable to not focus on correcting it in your mind till you just can't take it anymore, but like, nice subtle ways that make for the story to fit the concept of the show more, but all the key elements are there, Bianca and Chastity's power struggle, though their roles are now reversed, Kat and Patrick's taming of the shrew style romance is intact, and infact actually a lot better done then it was in the film its a lot more natural and a lot more fitting of the characters, Cam and Joey are both still trying to win Bianca's affections, and ofcourse, Kat and Bianca's dad, who is played by the same man that played him in the film, is actually a lot more insane with his over protective parenting, but when you adapt a show from a two hour defining generation film to a sitcom, you need to alter and change things to fit, so that kinda makes sense. Plus the detail at which they went to make sure the actors not only look like their film counterparts, but play their roles to a tee. I postulated that it was possible Lesley Shaw, the girl now playing Kat might have actually out done Julia Stiles at her signature role, the rest of the cast is the same way, the girl playing Chastity you have to keep reminding yourself isn't Gabriel Union, just someone thats an almost perfect clone. The only real downside to this quirky and at times side splittingly funny series, is that its only 30 minutes long, I was hoping by season 2 or so they'd have expanded to an hour, to tell more story, and not have to rush, though its not that bad rushed, its that “oh no its over already” kind of rush, so if you haven't had a look at this lovely little hidden gem of a series, go check it out, you'll laugh. Plus the lines are hilarious, the one where Kat makes fun of Twilight is still hilarious to this very day.

Best Sci Fi Series of 2009:
Torchwood. I had a lot of trouble picking a best sci fi series this year, there were so many good ones the world over, and though many assumed I would give this award to Fringe, which everyone knows I just adore, and I was considering, but then after watching this year's third series of Torchwood called “Children Of Earth”, which not only shook up the entire cast and and changed everything, but it did it while finally stepping out of the shadow of its parent series Doctor Who and becoming a series all its own, which I feel is the most important thing for it to do to keep itself alive. I have been overly critical of Torchwood over the years, calling the first series shock television done for shock value, and the second progressively better but still somewhat lacking, but finally, finally this offshoot series has become one of its own, with series three, telling the tale of how they have to save the world's children from a group of aliens that use human children as a drug, and have come to earth demanding a portion of the world's preteen age youth, and threatening us with destruction if we refuse. Now sure, the idea of the doomsday from the sky plot has been done time and time again, but this just was so well written and acted and literally shook the entire series to its core, killing off one of its remaining characters and leaving the other two in shambles, its just brilliant and the shake up that was needed to fix the things that were wrong with the series, it was excellently written and acted out, and unlike a lot of these “event” style series, you did not see the twists coming, and I just love that. So much so that as I stated, I had a lot of trouble picking a series that would be the best, and though Torchwood just barely makes it out on top, consider this a four way tie, because honestly, this was a great year for Sci Fi. Now I just gotta wait for next year when Survivors and Doctor Who come back... stupid waiting.

Runner-Ups: “Fringe”, “The Misfits”, “V”

Best Animated Series of 2009:
The Simpsons. Its a rarity when a television show reaches 20 years, and more so its a rarity when a show that does reach that milestone is still as entertaining as it was at the beginning, and though its true there were many years where the simpsons kind of dragged along almost painfully, which is true with any show thats long running (Family Guy I'm looking right at you with that comment), in the end, The Simpsons picked back up and became the powerhouse of comedy that we all fell in love with it for, and is still one of the most recognized television shows of all time, spawning slang, catch phrases, and even a cult who believe in the teachings of everyone's favorite christian Ned Flanders as well as many essays on how Homer Simpson is infact a sage of wisdom beyond compare, you can not deny the impact that The Simpsons have had on both American culture and the world around us, and that is why I am honoring them, for being a part of my life, and the life of millions of others the world over, for 20 years with no sign of stopping at this point. And also because even though they have reached this milestone, they haven't slacked off with what brought them to the dance, even making jokes about how old they are, referencing the untouched on missing people and things from past years, its almost as if their gift to the viewers is reading what they say, and making jokes out of it, like when they gave comic book guy a name several years ago just to rile the fans up, but this time not to annoy or poke fun at. Fox has been promoting the fact that this year is going to be a rather large party for the show, with a giant 3D in HD special in January on the day the show actually premiered, which infact they are keeping the story of under wraps, so its gonna be something great. So if you haven't seen in awhile, or have been avoiding, or just like to laugh, seriously give them some love.

Runner-Ups: “The Venture Brothers”, “Moral Oral”, “Robot Chicken”

Best Concept 2009:
Durham County. As I stated in my earlier praise of this fine canadian series, Durham County isn't your normal cat and mouse style police thriller. It allows for itself to morph and change as the weaver of the web changes and the characters all change as well. In the first series they adapt to Ray and all he does to manipulate everyone else, and in the second series they all adjust to Pen and her completely different brand of manipulation, its a brilliant contrast and an excellent way of showing just how you can make a show endure with out giving away the entire concept just to change the storyline, it doesnt' feel forced as some characters move to the front and others move to the back, and you generally feel pain and see the pain in all of them as others get hurt or die, its really some amazing work thats just so unheard of in television right now, and truly the best concept this year.

Stand Out Character of 2009:
Ray Prager from Durham County. This show is clearly my big winner this year, racking up three awards, something no show before it as ever done, not even the brilliant Fringe or Heroes when it wasn't a lackluster hobbling on two broken legs mess, could do that. The great mental thriller from the great white north, is totally deserving of such honors, and among the reasons for that, is the show's main protagonist, the brutally insane and remorseless Ray Prager, who on the outside always seemed like that cool guy that everyone wanted to be friends with and all the girls wanted to date, but no one except Mike Sweeney, the life long friend who in so many ways is his exact double, knew and saw the hints and signs of Ray's true nature. And when life got to much for Ray, dealing with jealousy of men paying attention to his wife, jealousy of the fact his son Ray Jr. had an incredible talent that would get him out of Durham County and become a great and respected writer, and the added stress of Mike, the only one that really knew what he was, returning to their hometown, and all the fear that comes along with that, when Ray finally gave in to those dark voices and urges down inside that he kept to himself, his mind didn't just twist, it snapped completely in half. Ray is the tragic story of what really happens to that guy who grows up and never really leaves the town they're from, those guys who act like they never wanted to leave in the first place, they just wanted to stay there and build a life and become someone, his failures and his past of misdeeds were just to much for him to handle and when it all caved in around him, his reaction was swift, brutally violent and totally insane, he reverted back to his teenage self, a cold, angry, respectless rapist who would do anything to get what he wanted and to protect his public image in the process. After Ray is locked away for his murders and rapes, is truly when he becomes the brilliant character he is ment to be, after a jailhouse suicide attempt that left him burned and disfigured in the face, Ray becomes even more dangerous then ever, though he's more of a puppet master then a murderer this time, and really thats what makes him so very very dangerous, and my stand out character of 2009.

Worst Series of 2009:
The Jay Leno Show. This really is no surprise, this show is just so damn horrible that I really need to question what exactly is going on at NBC when they thought this was a good choice. Honestly, I see no logical reasoning as to way someone would have believed this show to be a good idea and a good investment of time. It just goes to show that NBC really is in need of new management and a very big kick in the backside to get themselves back to the top of the network market. Its bad enough that their regular programing is starting to circle the drain with sure fire ratings gettters like Heroes, The Office, 30 Rock, and the like all dipping in ratings this year, and new shows not preforming well, or even being canceled before they air, its obvious something is wrong, and one of the major things that is wrong is this program. Honestly, what is the point of Jay Leno retiring from the tonight show to do a 10pm five days a week show that is basically the tonight show? There is a reason that Jay's ratings in his last few years of hosting the tonight show were in the toilet, its because he isn't really funny. Its painfully obvious to anyone except the executives at NBC. Plus, they don't seem to care that having this show, literally KILLS their late night viewership, whats the point of staying awake till 11:30 to see a monologue and afew guests promoting their stuff if you seen it 90 minutes earlier with someone else? It doesn't make any sense at all, plus when you add in the fact that Jay's been ripping off other comedians, most noted being Howard Stern as of late, it makes you wonder just how long we'll need to suffer though this horrible horrible show.

Runner-Ups: “NCIS”, “Three Rivers”, “Flashforwad”

Worst Dramatic Series of 2009:
Melrose Place. I have no idea why someone over at The CW, the network that thought dropping everything except their teenage aimed dramatic programing was a good idea (yes I'm still bitter about reaper), thought “hey, lets remake Melrose Place, after all, we got moderately tolerable ratings with the remake of Beverley Hills 90210, after all, one spawned the other..”, I also have no idea why other people agreed with this person, or why none of them were burned at the stake in the town square. Really, this show was shlock the first time around, and its shlock still, except now, its not 1990s shlock, its that horrible “lets just toss tons of pretty women and guys with great abs that look good with out shirts on at people with out worrying about the story at all.” version of shlock, atleast the 1990s version had a plot, kind of, sometimes, ok that one time, but anyway my point remains, this crap is dreck and honestly, anyone with a brain would know this just by watching 5 minutes of it. Yeah in its time, shows of this nature were seen as high end drama, but that era was the 1980s and it involved big hair, shoulder pads and people getting tossed in fountains and swearing at each other while no one questions why one person in all of Texas is British. All shows of this nature are now are excuses to put people that couldn't make it on a soap opera on camera for teenage girls to stare at, and though yes, there are shows that do that for men too, just accept the fact that fanservice and fanservice, and if you are going to do it, then just make sure atleast its got a plot or some kind, not just “twentysomething pretty rich people behaving horribly to each other” thats just idiotic. I mean honestly, watch the first two seasons of Gossip Girl, you know, before it started to just fall apart like it has as of late if you want an example of how to do this sort of show right in the modern era.

Runner-Ups: “Three Rivers”, “The Mentalist”, “Mercy”

Worst Comedy Series of 2009:
Cougar Town. Ok wow, this is the new series by the guy that created scrubs? How is that possible? Scrubs is funny and mildly unsettling at times, but mostly it brings the funny, how exactly can a person that makes the brilliance of comedy with one show, all of a sudden flop with another, seriously, this is like Seth McFarlane but without the animation here. Cougar Town is really nothing more then a really thin plot that revolves around the comedy of attractive middle aged women living in the suburbs, and the hilarity that is their lives as they go about their busyness. They used the FCC friendly term of “cougar” meaning attractive older woman that seeks out younger men (and women.. roar) because apparently you can't use the word “milf” on network television, well except that one time Glee used it, but anyway, this show is really not all that funny, or all that entertaining or really all that interesting, its like a sitcom version of Desperate Housewives, but with less funny and entertainment factor, and thats saying something because honestly, there isn't a lot of either in Desperate Housewives to begin with, its mostly sad and almost fail. Either way I really don't understand how this show is even on the air, other then maybe they needed some filler, sure, its Courtney Cox from Friends in a new sitcom, but you know what? You're not taking one thing into account, Friends really wasn't all that funny of a show, sure it had afew moments of hilarity in its 10 years, but honestly, not that funny, so just because someone that used to be on something funny is on a new show, doesn't always mean it'll be enough funny to keep people watching. Honestly, its time to put this cat back in its cage, its just to painful to sit through.

Runner-Ups: “Red Dwarf” (seriously, Series 9 was so rubbish), “Two And A Half Men”, “Hank”

Worst Sci Fi Series of 2009:
Vampire Diaries. Ok we get it, its 2009, Vampires are in again, we get it. We totally get it, even if for some reason, other then Tru Blood, every other vampire series or movie or whatever out there is heavy latent with empires that may or may not sparkle, but still we get it, 2009 is the year of the fangs and cape set. Most people aren't aware that this show, The Vampire Diaries actually started life as a pilot for a tv series based on the books turned movies turned tween girl masturbatory fodder turned ruiner of the San Diego ComiCon, Twilight. It was ment to be a show that filled in the history and such that happens before and between the books, and after the movie versions of the books were done, it was to take the series in its own direction guided by the writer/creator of the books and tell the farther stories of Bella, her paisty beau Edward, his empire friends who sparkle in the daylight, and Jacob and his pack of shirtless werewolves with great abs, and how they all grow up and i'd assume sort of have an Archie and Reggie competing for Betty and Veronica's attentions like in archie comics thing but about Bella. But stuff fell through, people wanted more money then they should, and others started getting egocentric and it all just sort of fell apart, so what to do? Simple, The CW took their craptastic scrit for a pilot, altered it just enough to be different but the same, tossed in afew elements from other vampire movies, and abit of Vampires The Masquerade for filling in cracks, sort of like vampire spackle, and they created this pile of bovine excrement, which means they didn't waist money developing a series, they also have something to fill their thrusday night line up, you know, because they canceled Reaper just to spite me, and more so then that, they get to rape this whole vampire craze thats going on with all the tweens these days, which basically proves a point I've been trying to make for years, if you write a lackluster, substandard program, and you market it to those tweens who skip home and scribble in their diaries about how maybe that boy they like is a vampire, you will rake in the cash, as depressing as that is, because honestly this show is a bomb if I ever saw one, but, because of whats hot in the streets and fresh to death in the boondocks right now being vampires, I see this horrible show lasting for afew more years. Oh well, we can't win them all I guess.

Worst Animated Series of 2009:
The Goode Family. In theory this show wasn't supposed to be that bad, its made by Mike Judge, the underated creator of such classics as Beavis and Butthead and King Of The Hill, which in itself became an american institution, which to this day is often spoofed or homaged in some form or another through animation, but for some reason, The Goode Family, just didn't live up to that reputation of its creator, a series about a family who do nothing but good deeds, even if they are misguided and simple minded in their ideal of this, just did not seem to grab people, plus with very little promotion or mention at all from the network, as well as a dead air timeslot, it made it hard for a show this, different, to make it on the air, and it leaves a lot of people wondering why infact it ever came to pass. The characters are dumbed down copies of the Hill family, but like, if they were hippies to raised their kids to be hippies, it was really a scary sight to behold, and though i'm sad to see Mike Judge fail, I am however glad this show is off the air, it wasn't really all that interesting and it wasn't really worthy of being on the air, even in the summer season when almost no one is watching. I should state though, that this year was kind of a weird year for animation, I wanted to hate The Cleveland Show, but I just can't seem to, because it gets funnier as it goes, and yet, I feel I almost should have given this to Family Guy, because, honestly, other then that dead on perfect Disney spoof and the Robot Chicken joke in the first episode of the season, its just been kinda hit or miss so far, but, we'll get to Something Something Something Dark Side later on this year, so maybe by then Family Guy will have picked up and become funny again. So until then, and hoping it does, I'm sticking with The Goode Family as my worst animation series of the year.

Worst Television Series with potential to become good viewing:
Eastwick. Had this show been able to progress, and grow, and more so, if the FCC wasn't all retentive about witchcraft and dark arts in television, this show could have become something great, taking its story from the old movie The Witches of Eastwick, and following a story thats a mix of that, practical magic and just alittle harry potter, you know, for the kiddies who's parents don't know they're up at 10pm perving at the almost all female cast, because remember parents, 10 year olds can like cougars too, specially if they do magic, or are called Splooshy, anyway Eastwick had a pretty good shot at becoming a great show, not just one forgotten by the wayside that no one will remember in a year or two, but sadly, as is the case with many shows like it, the network had and still has no faith in the series, and felt that maybe an hour long dramedy about magic and the sexy people that use it, might not fit so well with its normal weeknight shlock that consists of cop shows, shows about small suburban coul de sacs where everyone behaves badly, and more cop shows, I guess there just isn't a place in the world for a show like this, which really sucks, because it was so very good.

TV Shows that shouldn't have been canceled/ended:
Reaper, Eastwick, Defying Gravity, Monk, Cast Offs, Demons, Trailer Park Boys, Robin Hood, Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, My Name Is Earl, Numbers, The Middleman, Ashes To Ashes, Life On Mars (US version), Jurassic Fight Club, Dollhouse, Terminator The Sarah Conner Chronicles, MADtv, Swingtown, The Starter Wife, Saving Grace (ends summer 2010, but still counts cuz announcement happened in summer 2009), The Riches, King Of The Hill, Harper's Island (even thought it was a self contained one then done series, still counts!), and I guess thats it, wow I guess there weren't a lot of shows that shouldn't have gotten canceled this year, kind of says a lot eh?